1001 Hyrulean Nights
by Elfin Empress
Summary: In the end, there was the King and his Queen. But in the beginning, there was a forsaken prince and a maiden who believed in him. Based on "1001 Nights" ("Arabian Nights").


Disclaimer: The characters, objects, and places that pertain to _The Legend of Zelda_ belong to Nintendo. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**_1001 Hyrulean Nights_**

I.

She feels his eyes upon her.

Wearing her veil, she looks towards him. He speaks not a word though she hears his heavy breath alive in the air, hissing like a foul sigh of the wind. She senses his fingers coiling around silk sheets and his eyes alight like blue fire, staring into her, yet seeing none of her.

Is this what madness does to a man?

She sits still upon his jewelled pillows, the passage of what is to come at morrow's first light dwelling in the recesses of her mind. Turning away, she imagines white light pouring in from a beautiful window…soft, soothing light, like hope from the effigies of Hymir Haven…

_…Like a song of the Goddesses, unadulterated and angelic, the light streamed through the window, singing holy and sacred hymns only she could hear. A small sense of solace edged into her heart as she stared vaguely at brightness in the darkened cathedral._

_"Zelda, my dear," she heard his voice. "It is time for us to leave now."_

_Leave _now_? She ignored him, her eyes encased in tears. "…Mummy," she whispered tensely. "Will I ever be with you again?"_

_Her mother did not reply and so her tears streamed like melted frost on a white winter's day._

_"Dear child, let us not linger here any longer. Let her be at peace."_

_Stubbornly, she spun around to face him. "What will happen to her, father?"_

_She heard him sigh -- a sigh not like that from frustration, but one from wistfulness…and that of regret._

_He lowered himself to her height. She felt his grey eyes shinning like misty pools, peering into her searing heart. Her hands were taken into his and then he spoke softly, "Beyond the window, there is a white statue."_

_"_And_?" She responded, heatedly._

_"'Tis no ordinary effigy, my child. It is of the Lady-Goddess, Nayru. Though she is considered by some to be the lesser Goddess of the Trinity because she was once flesh and blood, she is still the wisest and greatest of them all…"_

_"Once flesh and blood?" She questioned, curiosity getting the best of her._

_"Yes, the Goddess of Wisdom…" he stated with deep veneration before hushing himself to just above that of a whisper. "She once was a girl from a world not unlike our own." He paused, his tone then weighing heavily, "She was not so different from yourself, Zelda." _Was that melancholy in his voice?__

_"She was cursed -- she could not hear."_

_She shuddered at his last words, but urged him to continue with a slight pat on the hand._

_"Save for her mother, the people did not know she could not hear. She would inscribe on walls, stating that the messages were words of wisdom from the Warrior-Goddess, Din. The people thought her mad. They sent her away to live in the Mountains of Goliayth. But legend tells of Nayru being so wise and kind that she did not hold spite for her condemners and the first Goddess, Din, took to her great depth of wisdom. Nayru perched upon the highest peak, where she could see all of the world and began to contemplate the raison d'être of mankind. It is said that the peak was so high it extended to Bliss and there, Din embraced Nayru with her flaming arms and made her the second goddess. Then, together, they created the Mother-Goddess, Farore."_

_"But what does this have to do with us?" she demanded._

_"When Nayru became a Goddess, her hearing was restored and she went to a convent to heal the ill. With Nayru's love, the convent became a sanctuary – Hymir Haven."_

_She gasped, "This place…"_

_"Yes, my child," he replied, releasing her hands. "Though one day your curse will reach its full extent and though your mother...your mother-" his voice caught in his throat and it was not until a sharp intake of breath was admitted that he could continue. "When you chance upon a statue of Nayru, you should remember her wisdom, her kindness, and above all, you should have hope."_

_She gazed at the blurred brilliance that was the window._

_Hope..._

"What is it you are looking at?"

"The light from the window."

"Light? From the window? It is dusk."

There is a subdued shuffle among the sheets and she knows he is close.

"Come here," he says, his voice mellow and subtle, his breath falling warm upon the skin of her neck. She turns towards him, her heart skipping a few beats. He removes her veil and she attempts not to wince.

"Your eyes," he states. "Why is it that I cannot see myself in them?"

She feels herself ablaze.

"…Your Majesty," she endeavours to stay clam. "One cannot see oneself in them because I was cursed long ago…with blindness."

"Cursed?" he asks and then pauses. "Ah, what does it matter?" he says to himself and then turns towards her. "It means nothing to me whether you are blind or not." He halts once more, before continuing with resolve, "You are all the same."

"The same, your Majesty?" she enquires, making an effort to defer time, though knowing perfectly what his words mean.

"_Yes, you are all the same._"

It is now or never. "Then perhaps your Majesty has not heard of Zella of the Cinders?"

"Zella of the Cinders?"

"Why yes. The tale of Cinderzella."

I.

**_1001 Hyrulean Nights_** copyright © 2004 by _Elfin Empress_ & _HystericFreak_

_This story, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission._


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